AI
SaaS
+5
Sep 10, 2026
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2 min read
Keep Converting raises $2M pre-seed led by Nuwa Capital and COTU Ventures
The UAE startup has emerged from stealth with an AI platform that generates and tests personalised product pages for individual ecommerce shoppers, claiming an average 64% conversion-rate lift across early deployments.
Startups
+4
Aug 28, 2026
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4 min read
Builder.ai founder Sachin Dev Duggal launches Dubai-based SeKondBrain after unicorn collapse
New venture marks the return of the Builder.ai founder 15 months after the QIA-backed startup entered insolvency, with an initial product designed to carry memory between competing AI models
Jordan
+3
Aug 19, 2026
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2 min read
HeyBreez raises $2.5M seed led by Lunara Partners as call volumes pass one million a month
The oversubscribed round brings in Jabbar Group alongside returning backer DASH Ventures, seven months after the company's $1.3 million pre-seed.
Funding
+3
Aug 11, 2026
•
1 min read
UAE customer intelligence startup Cobi raises $1M pre-seed led by Lunara Partners
The new capital will be used to expand enterprise deployments across the Middle East and internationally, and to further develop Cobi’s recommendation and decisioning capabilities.
Startups
+3
Aug 4, 2026
•
1 min read
Saudi's Rime raises $2M+ seed to run AI agents on-site for retail chains
Seedra Ventures led again after backing the pre-Seed, in a round joined by Athlah Investment and Unity Invest Partners, behind a platform that runs decisions on-site through edge computing rather than sending footage to remote data centres.
News
+3
Jul 25, 2026
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1 min read
Notion acquires ZeroEntropy, the AI search startup co-founded by Moroccan CEO Ghita Houir Alami
The whole team joins Notion, with Houir Alami taking over its Model Research group, roughly a year after the YC-backed company raised a $4.2 million Seed.
News
+3
Jul 16, 2026
•
1 min read
Vercel acquires Stakpak, the Egyptian-born DevOps agent startup, as it builds out agentic infrastructure
The deal takes a team that bootstrapped out of Cairo for two years, built one of the most popular open-source DevOps agents, and raised a $500K pre-seed just last year into the $9.3 billion company behind Next.js and v0.
AI
+1
Jul 13, 2026
•
5 min read
Inside the AI services boom
After nearly a decade leading Deliveroo’s Middle East operation, Anis Harb left to help business make AI work at scale. We sit down with the Algebra AI founder, fresh from a $7M raise, to talk managed AI services, leaner teams and the gap between a promising demo and measurable results.
China
+4
Jul 10, 2026
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2 min read
Abu Dhabi's BlueFive co-leads $3B round for China's Kling AI, the largest raise ever for a video model company
The round values Kuaishou's spun-out video-generation unit at $18B ahead of a planned Hong Kong listing, and puts the Abu Dhabi asset manager alongside Tencent, CITIC Securities and CPE as the only Middle East-based name among the co-leads of a record Chinese AI financing.
Jordan
+4
Jul 10, 2026
•
1 min read
Jordan's ISSF partners with STV to bring the Google-backed AI Fund to Jordanian founders
The tie-up marks ISSF's second fund partnership in a month after its $7 million commitment to Endeavor Catalyst V opened the Kingdom's second investment phase.
Analysis
+2
Jul 1, 2026
•
14 min read
Tokenmaxxing and renting the frontier
How are founders and operators building across MENA thinking about token-spending caps, frontier versus open source model usage, and export controls?
Startups
+3
Jun 30, 2026
•
3 min read
1001 raises $30M Series A led by Lux Capital to build sovereign AI for Gulf critical infrastructure
Eight months after its $9 million seed, 1001 has more than tripled its raise, backing its pitch to build AI that helps operators run critical infrastructure like airports, ports and energy grids.
Funding
+4
Jun 24, 2026
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2 min read
Abu Dhabi's MGX raises close to $50B in one of the largest AI funds ever
The firm has assembled a portfolio spanning frontier models, semiconductor infrastructure and data centres, with stakes including OpenAI and xAI.
Startups
+4
Jun 16, 2026
•
1 min read
UAE's CNTXT AI closes $60M Series A co-led by AI71 and BlueFive Capital to scale sovereign AI infrastructure
The round is led in part by AI71, the Abu Dhabi applied-AI company that acquired founder Mohammad Abu Sheikh's previous venture and now returns as an investor, and lands weeks after CNTXT AI's acquisition of Gulf-dialect voice startup Actualize.
News
+2
Jun 9, 2026
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2 min read
Algebra AI emerges from stealth with $7M to bring managed AI operations to the GCC mid-market
Led by Anis Harb, former head of Deliveroo's Middle East business, the round was backed by Infinity Constellation, BECO Capital, Silicon Badia and Waseel Investments.
News
+4
Jun 5, 2026
•
2 min read
Anthropic files for IPO after $65bn round at $965B valuation as QIA and MGX both deepen Gulf stakes
The filing makes Anthropic the third major AI company to move toward a public listing in 2026, following Cerebras, which listed on the Nasdaq in May at a $70B valuation, and ahead of rival OpenAI.
Startups
+4
Jun 5, 2026
•
1 min read
CNTXT AI acquires Actualize to power Arabic voice agents across the GCC
Actualize develops Arabic voice models built natively for Gulf dialects with a research team drawn from Google, Nokia and Siemens.
